Book Reviews

The Passion of Woo & Isolde, by Jennifer Tseng, winner of the 11th annual Rose Metal Press Short Short Chapbook Contest, is tiny fiction at its best, a shining example of the powerful punch short fiction can deliver. Divided into three parts, there are 24 short fictions, and each one can be read in a […]

In Whores are Always Melancholy, by Jess Mize, published by Finishing Line Press, what starts off as a narrative with a haunting, gritty film-noir feel soon becomes something more contemporary and sinister. The book begins with descriptions from a ghost-like narrator, who travels around the world and describes everything they see. They allude to jazz […]

For readers of Unbroken, Darren C. Demaree needs no introduction; but if you haven’t read him, you can find several of his stunning prose poems in our past issues, the latest being his, Here We Are, Sore, in the October issue. I recently had the privilege of reading an advance copy of Demaree’s latest book, […]

I was delighted to read an advance copy of Randal Eldon Greene’s literary novel, Descriptions of Heaven. Some of you will remember Randal’s, Come Light, from Issue Eight of Unbroken. If you haven’t read him, head over there and read that now, and you’ll get a taste of the author’s voice. It is that voice […]

Rose Metal Press has done it again! Family Resemblance, edited by Marcela Sulak and Jaqueline Kolosov, is not only an exceptional tool for the craft, but also a vivid example of the craft. In much the same style as their Field Guides to Flash Fiction, the Prose Poem, and Flash Nonfiction, Family Resemblance brings us […]

I was pleased to receive a review copy of Michael Daley’s new collection, Of a Feather, published by Empty Bowl Press, a division of Pleasure Boat Studio. Reading through the poems here, I was reminded of why I like Michael’s poetry so much, it’s because he has such a way of bringing me into the […]

Darren C. Demaree is one of my favorite poets, and I was delighted to receive an advanced copy of his new collection, Not for Art Nor Prayer, scheduled to be published in October by 8th House Publishing. As usual, after reading Darren’s poetry, I’m at a loss for words that would justify the beauty of […]

Yes, this is a prose poem journal, but I’m including this review here because the flash fiction in this chapbook is very much poetic. Rosie Forrest’s chapbook won the ninth annual Rose Metal Press short short chapbook contest, and it’s easy to see why. I loved the dark tone and mood of the prose, each […]

Politics: besides religion, it’s the one subject often tiptoed around, but in The Pony Governor, Demaree holds nothing back and his poems say the things we’ve all wanted to say at times. Due to be released this July by a….p press, The Pony Governor is a daring collection that points a poetic finger at corrupt […]

In the Circus of You An Illustrated Novel-in-Poems By Nicelle Davis and Cheryl Gross Paperback, 104 pages March 2015 ISBN: 978-1-9416280-0-3 Wow, I just finished this new book from Rose Metal Press and I wanted to share my thoughts with my readers here. As a lover of experimental form, this book really intrigued me. It’s […]

The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Prose Poetry: Contemporary Poets in Discussion and Practice Edited by Gary L. McDowell and F. Daniel Rzicznek April 2010 ISBN 978-0-9789848-8-5 224 pages If you love prose poems as much as we do, and we’re betting you do since you’re here, or if you would like to learn […]